The Five Elements

Essentially, the Law of the Five Elements describes a fundamental interrelationship of nature’s elements. The circular arrangement, known as the sheng or creative-cycle, states simply that Wood creates Fire, Fire creates Earth, Earth creates Metal, Metal creates Water, and Water creates Wood. We can see how Wood creates Fire in the way a log serves as fuel for a ﬂame; Fire, in turn, creates Earth as the ashes fall back to the soil; Earth creates Metal in the minerals found within the earth and in the mountains rising upfrom the plains; Metal then creates Water as seen in the rivers that run down from the mountains or in the rocks of the stream that hold the water in its place; and ﬁnally Water, the source of life that allows the tree to grow, creates Wood. This cycle of the elements is also referred to as the mother-child relationship.

In addition, the Five Element system includes another arrangement, the k’o or control-cycle, which is depicted by the arrows on the inside of the diagram. This pattern describes the observation thatWood controls Earth, Earth controls Water, Water controls Fire, Fire controls Metal, and Metal controls Wood. Wood controls the Earth in that trees prevent a hillside from eroding; Earth controls Water as the banks keep a river ﬂowing in its course; Water controls Fire since it can put out a blaze; Fire controls Metal in that Fire can melt Metal; and Metal controls Wood in the way an axe can fell a tree.Though some Chinese teachings refer to this elemental cycle as destructive, it is more useful to understand the k’o cycle as essential for keeping the balance, reﬂecting the principle of yin/yang. Without this controlling aspect, the sheng cycle would lead to an unchecked build-up of energies that is likely to become excessive.These relationships are wonderfully balanced and certainly reﬂect a sense of wholeness. However, in order to use this model in the way the ancients did to describe the movement of life’s energies, we must move beyond a concrete interpretation and think of these images symbolically. Symbols have traditionally been utilized in all cultures to allow people to transcend the limits of rational thought and approach the realm of mystery. Since these laws were derived from nature, especially from an awareness of the changes through the year and the alternations in the plant world, the qualities of the seasons can be used as a metaphor to uncover the true meaning of the elements. Because these patterns are inextricable from life, theyare able to reﬂect the transformations of ch’i. Through observing the shifts in the energy through the cycle of the seasons, we move from a static and finite view of the elements to a dynamic model for grasping the inﬁnite.Wood symbolizes the energy of the springtime, a time of birth and growth. There is an upward movement of energy in nature, and we observe a bursting forth of activity, as for example in the bamboo shoot pushing up through the soil. In The Yellow Emperor’s Classicof Internal Medicine this season is described as the period of “beginning and development of life,” as living things unfold according to the plan inherent in their seed. To get a sense of what the Wood element means, we need only reflect on the vitality and creative expression that is all around us in this season.After the growth of spring, there is a transition into the heat of summer, into the Fire element. The rising aspect of nature’s cycle has reached its zenith, as all things come to fullness in the light and warmth of the sun. Everywhere there is “luxurious growth,” and the life energy reaches maturity and finds its expression. To appreciate Fire, we can notice, for example, how we feel on a warm summer day at a picnic with friends. Again, it is through a personal experience of these elements that we can understand the meaning they held for the ancient Chinese.Next, we move into the season of late summer, which accounts for the total of five seasons in this model. The energy has again shifted and transforms into the time of the Earth element. Here there is a welcome decrease from the intensity of the summer heat, as the light energy begins to wane. Earth represents a time of harvest and “abundance,” as witnessed in the fruits ripening on the vine. This energy is a symbol of nourishment, sustenance, and stability.During the late summer (sometimes referred to as Indian summer), one may feel that all the seasons are present, an impression that is consistent with the placement of Earth at the center in the Yellow River Map of the elements, as discussed in the previous chapter.Continuing our journey through the seasons, we come to autumn, the time of the Metal element, when the diminishing of the light energy continues. This is a time of letting go, as seen in the leaves falling from the trees. Walking in the woods during this season provides a sense of peace; the active stages of the cycle are now complete, and we can get in touch with the quality of life. The autumn is a time of balance and is called the period of “tranquility of one’s conduct.” In this quiet time, when nature is turning inward, we feel inspiration and a strength of spirit.Finally, with the coming of winter, we have the Water energy, a time to go down into the depths and return to the source of the life cycle. During this period of “closing and storing,” the reservoirs fill up and the energies are replenished through rest. There is a starkness around us, an impression of “emphasis” in the natural world, as seen in the bare branches of the trees. At this time, the life energy is now underground; with the stillness of winter comes tremendous potential, as the Water element contains the seed for the new birthin the spring.To deepen our appreciation of the movement of the energy through the seasons, it is helpful to compare the associations of the elements that have just been presented. The chart below summarizes these aspects and adds some others:The Law of the Five Elements is so simple that it reminds us of a child’s game, but this simplicity is the key to its elegance and power. The ancient Chinese lived close to the soil and had a keen sense of life’s rhythms. They uncovered the principles of Five Element energetics in the most natural way, through tending their crops through the seasons. The old farmer knew that if he didn’t plant the seeds in the springtime, he would have missed the moment when the summer arrived. Without the growth of the spring (Wood), and the full maturity of summer (Fire), there would be no harvest (Earth). Similarly, if the farmer failed to pick the crops in the late summer and to turn the soil in the autumn, it would be too late once the frost set in. It is the work of the Earth time that allows for the letting go of autumn (Metal) and the rest of winter (Water). People who live an agrarian lifestyle are in intimate relationship with the seasonal energies, and they have a genuine sense of what it means to be in harmony with them. Because the elements are universal, as we study the Five Element model today we can, like the traditional farmer, draw upon our own connection with nature to build an awareness of the elements. This, in turn, allows us to cultivate true wisdom within. Words can only provide adescription for energies that ultimately must be known through life experience.As we follow the progression through the seasons, we can observe the sheng cycle operating in the way that each element creates the next one in the sequence. Since “the end of everything is joined to a new beginning,” the movement is circular and self perpetuating, resulting in the endless transformation of life’s energies. The I Ching speaks of this rhythm in terms of “the appearance and withdrawal of the vegetative life force.” We ﬁnd an expansion of the light energy (yang) through spring and summer and a contraction of the light (or a rising of the dark yin) through late summer and autumn, coming to a rest in winter. If we think of these changes as a pattern of rising and falling energy, we have a model based on the number two, which provides an understanding in terms of yin/yang. If we choose to make ﬁve divisions in this alternation between light and dark instead of two, we generate the Five Elements.4Each of the elements can thus be understood as stages in the flow of life from most yin to most yang, symbols of five aspects in the endless expansion and contraction of the energies over time. This temporal progression of the movement between yin and yang can be pictured as a continuous sine wave, with the elements created along the way. If the transformations of yin/yang give rise to the Five Elements, then these two models are really different ways to describe the same natural process, based respectively on the numbers two and ﬁve. At their core they are expressing the same truth. Since humankind is seen in traditional cultures as an extensionof nature, embodying the laws that are observed in the worldaround, it was an easy step for the sages of antiquity to apply the patterns of the elements to the human condition. Once it is understood that we are a microcosm reflecting the same patterns as the larger macrocosm, each of the elements holds a meaning for our lives. The Five Element model then became the basis for a system of medicine. Assessing the elements in a person could be a rather abstract, intellectual endeavor, if not for the fact that there evolved a practical way to read these energies through the senses. Since ch’i cannot be perceived directly, it is through the associations for each of the elements that we come to know the state of the energy. In particular, through observing the color, sound, emotion, and odor in a living human being, practitioners of Five Element acupuncture can bring this ancient system alive in the presentmoment. The above diagram of the elements indicates these correspondences.Wood is the energy of the springtime, a symbol of growth and development. To understand what the Wood element means in a human life, we can examine a person’s ability to grow. Does her life contain new births and creativity in much the same way as this energy exists in nature? Is there a plan, a vision of where she is headed? Can she make the decisions that allow growth to take place? The goal in Chinese medicine is a balance in the energies, and the healthy expression of Wood is probably best considered to be assertiveness, like the upward-expanding bamboo shoot that pushes up through a crack in the pavement. When this activity goes to the extreme, or when growth does not occur in a person’s life, the tension and frustration may be reflected in a shouting voice and the emotion of anger, expressions that can be understood as diagnostic of a Wood element out of balance. The ideal of health in this system is seen to be the ability to express a range of emotions in the course of the day. This can be observed, for example, in the play of children, who are capable of getting ﬁercely angry, but then move on to other feelings in a relatively short time. In working with the Five Elements, when we ﬁnd someone who is stuck in this emotion and is still angry long after an event is over, we suspect that she may have difficulty in the issues pertaining to Wood. Conversely, an imbalance in this element may be associated with a lack of shouting and a lack of anger, as in the individual who is unable to assert herself to make things happen. Someone who is incapable of getting angry, who has her foot stepped on and says, “Pardon me for putting my foot under yours,” could also be suffering from a Wood imbalance. It is likely this same person will not have the creative energy required to make changes in other areas of life, and as a result will most likely not be able to manifest growth. Thus, we find that each of the elements may be out of balance in either an excessive or deﬁcient way (bipolar dysfunctions that reﬂect the principle of yin and yang).Through observing the world in the springtime, we know that Wood is associated with the color green. When this element does not ﬁnd a healthy expression in an individual, we can actually observe a green hue on the side of her face. The phrase in our language “green with envy” indicates an awareness of this phenomenon. If a person has an imbalance in Wood, we may also smell a rancid odor, like the smell of a gym locker room or rancid oils. It is important to under-stand these associations in their proper context as natural expressions of their respective elements. The value of these correspondences lies in the way they reveal the energy of the moment: a person may deny being angry in words, but if she expresses herself in a shouting voice, her true feelings are unmasked.The Fire element is the energy of the summer, and in evaluating a person’s Fire we want to know if there is warmth in his life;quite literally we can ask, Does he have sunshine? The realm of interpersonal relationships is in many ways the province of Fire, and we can see the health of this element reﬂected in the ability to communicate, make connections, and develop true intimacy. On the deepest level, Fire energy comes to us through love and it is here, in God’s greatest gift, that we experience the spiritual power of this element. An imbalance may be observed in a red color, inappropriate laughter in the voice, and excessive joy (or in a lack of these qualities). The odor of Fire is scorched, like the smell of a hot iron left too long on clothes, or of a child with a high fever. These associations can be derived quite easily from an awareness of our sensory impressions on a summer’s day. We probably have all encountered people who are deficient in Fire, who seem cold and distant and lack the spark that is the essence of life itself. An absence in the warmth this element provides can be observed, in a very real way, through lack of laughing in the voice, lack of joy in the emotion, and a color that can bedescribed as lack of red. These people may crave connection, only to ﬁnd that others avoid them once it becomes clear that those lacking in Fire are only interested in taking that element and are incapable of giving it back, in turn. Then there are those who are always